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If Red Sox ace
Chris Sale ever finishes a nine-inning outing—he will likely give up nine runs. That's where the lanky lefty's ERA stands today—a 'perfect' 9.00. Sale had another command-free outing in Tuesday's Home Opener at Fenway Park—yielding five earned runs in just four innings of work in
a 7-5 loss. Inevitably, questions are arising around Sale's health—who averaged just 91.8 MPH on his fastballs yesterday. It's hard to imagine that the Red Sox would have handed over $145 million in their recent five-year contract extension if Sale was damaged goods. Still, something is clearly wrong—no matter how much spin comes out of the Kremlin-like Red Sox front office. In the game itself, Boston collected eight hits—including home runs by
Mookie Betts (3) and
Mitch Moreland (4).
Dustin Pedroia went 1-4 in his first start since last May—and looked perfectly healthy. But this one was pretty much over when it was clear that Sale could not hold yet another lead (2-0). This team may have just gotten their rings for their amazing 2018 season—but things are going decidedly non-amazing so far in this 2019 season.
